


New Introductions

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Seriously I use the fluff tag for all my fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22365331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: Because someone had to spill the beans that Ash was the Alola Champion.
Relationships: Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Kukui-hakase | Professor Kukui & Wataru | Lance, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Wataru | Lance
Comments: 32
Kudos: 565





	New Introductions

“What do you mean you don’t know who Ash Ketchum is?!” Hop yelled at the reporters, gesturing wildly at Ash and Pikachu, who both only sweatdropped. “Ash Ketchum! How have you not heard of him?!” Hop pumped his fists up and down as he yelled loud enough for the whole stadium to hear, “He has the position of the final battle frontier!”

“I turned it down,” Ash noted, not even paying attention to the crowd as they jaw-dropped. He, instead, waved to Lance and Leon as the two of them were drawn to the large crowd around them. “Lance! Hey, Champion Leon!” Pikachu also gave a chirp, ears twitching as Hop continued to rant about their achievements.

Leon smirked, crossing his arms. “How did you like the battle?” 

“I loved it! It looked like you two had fun too!” Ash tilted his head with a beaming grin, stroking Pikachu’s back like they were ready to battle as well.

While Ash beamed, Lance glanced between Ash and Leon before staring at Hop as he continued to rattle off to the crowds, “He’s the Orange League Champion!” Blinking, Ash and Pikachu both side-eyed Lance as he scooched closer to them.

“...And yeah, that Gigantamaxing thing? It was so cool! Hop explained it-”

At the mention of his name, Hop bounced up and down. “Ash Ketchum is the youngest Champion and the first Alola Champion! I can’t believe none of you have heard of him!” Leon froze, staring at Ash while the crowd curled tighter around them. Pikachu’s ears lowered, eyes narrowed.

Lance stiffened, standing between Ash and the reporters with a stoic face. “Can all of you please back up?”

“Champion Lance, was that true? That Ash really is a champion?” the reporters all asked, stepping forward and eyes sparkling at Ash and Pikachu like they were a unique art piece in a museum. Hop didn’t seem to realize anything was wrong and nodded.

Frowning, Lance said with a warning voice, “Can you back off first?”

“Champion Lance, it’s true, isn’t it? Why don’t you tell us more-”

“It’s not my place to tell,” Lance’s eyes glowed as he smiled dangerously, almost pulling Hop towards his brother with an invisible rope. Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other, a wince flashing across their faces. The reporters all shoved a microphone at Ash. Even Leon startled when Lance bared his teeth and nearly snarled at the reporters, not unlike one of his dragons when they were in a snappy mood. “And it’s not your place to ask.” Ash tilted his head and took a step forward, only to be blocked by Lance’s outstretched hand. Pikachu’s ears twitched as he glanced off, but he quickly redirected his gaze to Lance.

Ash raised an eyebrow. “...Lance?” Lance blinked, stiffly glancing back at Ash before casually withdrawing his hand, face stoic once more like he didn’t care about anything in life. “...Ok then, hello everyone!” He waved to the cameras, smiling when Pikachu did the same. “There really isn’t anything else about me you need to talk about other than those achievements! Sure, I’ve participated in some other contests and competitions, but that’s it!” Hop’s face was filled with suspicion, but Leon only shrugged.

After a moment of silence, Lance clasped Ash’s shoulder, declaring, “Then we’re done here.” As the reporters continued trying to pry into Ash’s past, Lance hissed, “Does the G-Men have to get involved?” The reporters froze, and Leon narrowed his eyes at Lance. “Because as you probably heard”--Lance side-eyed Hop--“Ash is the Orange League Champion. My secondary champion. Combine that with the fact that he’s a Kanto citizen, I’m taking responsibility for protecting his privacy.” After a moment of silence, he smiled back at Ash. “Let’s go, Ash, we’re having a short champion meeting. The rest of you can interview your undefeatable champion.” Hop wanted to follow them but felt compelled otherwise by a mysterious force.

Ash silently followed Lance through the crowd with a grin, leaving the other people behind. They could still hear Leon talking to the reporters even as they left the stadium, so they kept on walking. Just as they got to a secluded forest, Ash let out a small sigh, reassuring himself by scratching Pikachu’s cheeks. “Is anything amiss, Lance?”

“Yes.” Ash and Pikachu’s faces turned serious. “I never thanked you for everything you’ve done for the world.” 

Ash stopped walking, running to catch up to Lance a moment later. “Wait wha?” Even Pikachu was surprised, judging by his perked ears.

Lance pulled out his pokedex and a document on it. Tilting his head, Ash froze when Lance turned around, showing him… is that a file dedicated to him? There was his basic information like his hometown and his starter. His league placings. 

One section described his unique pokemon. How he had 30 Tauros. How he had a Shiny Noctowl. How his Greninja has an alternate form. How he had a Melmetal and used to have an Ultra Beast and how he had a unique Lycanroc and Pikachu that could use a unique move- Ash lightly shook his head. All of his pokemon were unique, he didn’t need to read this!

Apart from the regular stuff, like him having so many “unique” pokemon from so many regions and him entering in so many leagues, Ash was genuinely surprised to see a list of his other achievements. Pikachu cooed to Ash, and Ash furrowed his eyebrows with a nod.

“You’re actually surprised I kept a tab on you?” Lance asked, watching Ash’s face. “Especially after the Hoenn Crisis?”

“You mean you don’t do this for every trainer?”

“...Well, not as in detail-”

Ash stared up at Lance with a raised eyebrow. “But why?” Lance sputtered, blinking in utter exasperation. Rubbing the back of his neck, Ash mumbled, “Ok ok, I sorta get why-” Pikachu could only deadpan at his trainer.

“Have you seen everything on this file- no wait, you have, you’ve experienced all of it! It’s not normal!” Lance thumbed through the page. “Number of badges, 52. Number of battle frontier badges, actually  **all** of them. You met every single professor and champion in the regions you’ve been to-”

“Not Galar!”

Lance side-eyed Ash and Pikachu. “...And every one of them has something positive to say about you, Ash, even without looking at this. And just look at everyone you’ve helped! You’ve encountered literally every major evil organization in those regions and defeated…” Sighing deeply, Lance placed both his hands on his face. Pikachu’s ears twitched, and he and Ash both glanced behind them, before glancing back to Lance.

“Are you ok-”

“This isn’t about me,” Lance flatly said, taking a sharp breath. “I’ve gotten calls from so many people about you, you wouldn’t even know.” Scrolling down, Lance practically recited, “List of rangers. Kellyn, helped rescue a kidnapped Riolu. Ben, helped capture Heatran. Jack Walker, helped raised a Manaphy and saved Saimya. And Solana-”

“I get it, Lance, I get it!” Pikachu’s tail twitched as he glanced towards the sky with a curious chirp, blinking when the shadow of a pokemon passed by.

Ash sweatdropped as Lance continued, “Solana, she knows about the Riolu too. Helped a Celebi. AND helped a Deoxys-”

“Lance.” There was a moment of silence.

“You’ve met every legendary and mythical pokemon in those regions, haven’t you?” Lance took Ash’s silence as a yes, and gripped his pokedex tighter. “Not just meeting. You’ve been helping and defeating legendaries as well…” Pikachu innocently stared into Lance’s eyes like he hadn’t defeated three legendaries already. Ash only looked confused, peeking above him before glancing off. “Do you even  _ sleep _ ?”

“...Should I answer that?” Lance froze. “Yeah, I sometimes don’t-” Pikachu’s ears wilted, gazing between the two champions.

“Putting the past for a second, are you... ok?”

“Eh, why do you ask?” Tail curling around Ash’s neck, Pikachu sighed like he couldn’t believe how foolish his trainer is being.

Lance snapped, “Because I-we care about you! ...You did know that, right?”

Ash had an uncomfortable expression, fiddling with the edge of his cap. “Isn’t that your job? Why single me out?”

“Wha- do you save the world because it’s your job?”

“I mean, yeah? Anyone would do the same as me if they were in the right time and place?” Ash shrugged nonchalantly. “It just brings back a lot of memories. I’ve already died five times-” Now even Pikachu was confused. Lance could only stare between the two of them as Pikachu chirped to Ash. “Oh, you forgot my second death, Pikachu. You know, Mewtwo? New Island?”

There was a popping sound, and Lance unconsciously stepped in front of Ash. They all stared at Mewtwo as he telepathed, “How did you remember?!”

“Hey Mewtwo!” Ignoring Lance’s echoing “MewTWO?” in the background, Ash continued, “I think I shocked you all enough, no pun intended, we don’t need to go in detail-” Pikachu flatly squeaked at Ash, and Mewtwo nearly zoomed past Lance to stare at Ash.

“Did you remember through a nightmare?”

“Ok, I do get nightmares, but-”

“You get nightmares?” Lance asked, wincing when Pikachu hissed at him. 

Ash sighed, “This is why I never say anything. It just gets too confusing. Ok look, dying for the first time was scary, but me remembering you wasn’t, Mewtwo! Unlike… you know, all the things that could have happened. Those are my worst nightmares.”

“...Worst nightmare? Do you have a best nightmare too?”

Mewtwo stared between Ash and Pikachu, the latter still utterly confused, before freezing. “Aura.” Lance also perked up. “Even if you don’t use it, your aura is still more powerful than most pokemon’s. You’ve been countering my memory block ever since...”

“Wait wait wait,” Ash started, pointing to Lance. “Why do you know about aura?”

“Because my hometown is Blackthorn?” Lace almost had a nostalgic look on his face. “You know, dragons and legends? Aura is definitely one of our legends? I guess it makes sense, why you felt so drawn to Riolu. Doesn’t explain”--Lance side-eyed Mewtwo--“your encounters with legendaries though.” Ash glanced at Pikachu, a sheepish expression on their faces. “And why do I get the feeling that this ‘short champion meeting’ will get a lot longer?”

Mewtwo teleported them all to New Island, causing Lance to stiffen. As Pikachu gasped, the memories of the place rushing back to him, Ash only stared at Mewtwo. Mewtwo stared back at them, seemingly having a mental conversation with them. Lance noticed how Mewtwo’s expression mainly stayed stoic, only faltering once to a mixture of guilt and sadness. Ash and Pikachu, on the other hand, had the conversation displayed on their faces. 

Furrowed eyebrows that shifted to surprised eyes. They glanced at each other before smiling at Mewtwo, total understanding in their eyes. As Mewtwo relaxed, Ash nodded, “I never blamed you, don’t worry!” He then turned to Lance, jostling Pikachu when he raised an arm towards Mewtwo. “Lance, this is Mewtwo! We met each other on New Island, and now he apparently checks on me every once in a while, and that’s why we’re here!”

Lance glanced around, before nodding, slightly tossing his pokedex up and down. “And why exactly are we here?”

Pikachu nuzzled Ash’s cheek as he took a breath. “...I trust you enough to say this.” At Lance’s raised eyebrow, Ash dipped his head, saying, “Chosen One, at your service.” Lance actually dropped his pokedex, nearly cracking it on the ground if it wasn’t for Mewtwo using his psychic powers to float it back up.

“You’re joking.” Ash shook his head. Everyone startled when Lance grabbed his pokedex out of the air, mumbling thanks to Mewtwo before holding it to Ash. “Do you have a phone number for once?” Giving a surprised chirp, Pikachu then giggled, curling around Ash’s neck.

Ash sweatdropped, but still took out his Rotom Phone. “Why do you need my phone number?”

“Because you’re the Chosen One of all people?” Lance raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’ve been at every single world-ending event.” Ash only awkwardly laughed, sharing numbers with Lance as he flatly said, “You have, huh. I knew your file was lacking, but this? Now you call me whenever you get in trouble again, alright? And I can literally see your question on your face, and my answer is no, you’re not going to bother me.” Pikachu and Mewtwo glanced at each other with small smiles on their faces, the former’s expression turning into a smirk a moment later.

“Why do I get the feeling that you act different around… Ash, than other people?” Mewtwo asked out of the blue. Lance blinked, both him and Ash glancing back at the legendary, who smirked. “You’re not usually this open and… oh, dare I say it, protective? Are you?”

Lance had an embarrassed flush that turned into a grimace that even Ash and Pikachu caught onto. “I do know a lot- actually, now I’m not sure if I know half of Ash’s journeys… And I don’t even know if I’m allowed to look into his past-”

“Oh, it’s fine with me!” Ash cut in, nonchalantly petting Pikachu’s ears. “I don’t care if someone like you knows what I’ve done with my life. In fact, I’m honored you even did this, Lance!”

Reluctantly nodding, Lance glanced back at Mewtwo. “I think you’d agree with me about this, actually. The paparazzi gets on my nerves, and I don’t want Ash to experience that.” Lance held his hands out. “Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Ash shouldn’t get the credit and recognition he deserves, but… people are going to be curious. Sometimes too curious.”

“I know,” Ash mumbled, keeping his hand on Pikachu’s back. “That’s why I said ‘someone like you.’ Because I know I can trust you.”

Lance had a conflicted expression. “You’ve experienced it first hand, didn’t you? It’ll only get worse when everyone finds out you’re an official regional champion.” All of them watched Lance fidget with the edge of his cape. “Ever since Groudon and- actually, before that, back when I learned you were the one who won the Orange League, I wanted to keep some G-Men by your side, but I knew you wouldn’t like that and that you could handle it.” He chuckled, grinning when Pikachu wriggled under Ash’s hand and hopped into Mewtwo’s embrace. “And even after getting into so much trouble, you still made it.” Mewtwo gave a hum of agreement, a pleased smile on his face.

“You don’t want people to realize my role, do you.”

Lance’s eyes were panicked, but his posture was relaxed, like he was used to faking it. “And unlike us, I doubt you willingly agreed to being the Chosen One!” Ash froze, but Lance continued, “If people knew you were the Chosen One, who knows who would go after you? And I’m not just talking about the media watching your every action, not leaving you alone and ruining your traveling experience. You’ve already done so much for the world, I just want… It’s why I partially took on the Orange League Champion duties, actually. You shouldn’t have to deal with… But you more than deserve the support! I just…” Pikachu squeaked to Ash, who hummed in agreement.

There was a moment of silence, and Ash took a sharp breath. “Thank you, Lance. I know I’m taking on a lot of responsibility as the Alola Champion, but thank you for the heads up. Anything I could do to help you?”

Lance laughed, “I guess I can’t exactly convince you to get your own place as an office and spot to relax, can I?” Shrugging, Pikachu stared back at Ash, ears tilted to the side.

Mewtwo glanced between the two of them. “I can teleport you, Ash-”

“I’m not just going to use you as a teleporter, Mewtwo.” Ash deadpanned, before glancing off. “And I’m not taking the risk of having you on my team either. Not until I’m sure I can defend you.”

“Aren’t you the final battle frontier though?”

Eyes widening, Lance stared at Ash with a smirk as Ash shook his head. “Oh, no, I turned it down to travel.”

“And you… can’t travel because of it?” Mewtwo asked, voice a bit impatient but almost amused as Ash and Pikachu both scratched their cheeks, pondering what he meant.

Lance’s eyes gleamed as he explained, “Brandon has a flying pyramid that he uses to travel, Ash. Why not the same for you?” Mewtwo met Lance’s eyes, nodding to him. Lance raised an eyebrow, before grinning and nodding back.

“Oh!” There were stars in Ash and Pikachu’s eyes. “That’s so cool! Let’s do it!”

An hour later at the closing ceremony and after the winner of the world championship tournament was announced, Leon nodded to Lance, who stepped forward and tapped on the microphone. 

“How’s everybody doing?” Loud cheering greeted him, and Lance smirked when Hop waved up at them, bouncing up and down. “I’m glad to see so many of you staying behind for the closing ceremony, so thank you all!”

There was applause, and Lance took a deep breath. “As this tournament ends, trainers begin training for the next one, especially regional champions. We get really competitive over our titles, if you haven’t noticed.”

As the crowd chuckled, Lance glanced back at Leon offering a hand to Ash, who was off stage. He stifled a laugh as Ash ignored Leon’s hand and flipped onto the stage, Pikachu easily clutching onto his shoulder. “So it is my pleasure to invite a new champion to the stage, literally. I’d like to invite Ash Ketchum, the newly titled Alola Champion and final battle frontier, to address to us!”

Ash and Pikachu stared over the giant crowd, the former taking a deep breath and confidently walking next to Lance. Hop cheered from the crowds. “Hi everyone! I haven’t prepared a speech or anything like that, but if my travels have taught me anything, this is the time I introduced myself, right?” The crowd faintly chuckled, and Lance and Leon exchanged a grin. “I’m Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town”--he gestured to Pikachu--“And this is my partner Pikachu!” Pikachu gave his chirp of greeting, eliciting a loud awwww from the crowd. Ash gestured over the stage. “It’s an honor to be here!”

It was almost like the crowd absorbed Ash’s own excitement, cheering as Lance continued, “You may have heard it already, but for people around this world, I’d like to declare Ash Ketchum as our newest addition to the ranks. Why don’t we all give him a big round of applause?” Smirking, Pikachu waved at the crowd, puffing up his cheeks at the applause.

After the crowds clapped, Lance took a step back, formally shaking hands with Ash and sneakily giving him a wink. Leon sauntered to the microphone, dramatically clutching it and smirking widely at Ash. “Congratulations, Ash! After everything I’ve heard about you, I can’t wait to battle against you!” 

Ash and Leon shook hands, their eyes determined and locked onto each other. Pikachu grinned dangerously as Ash nodded. “Same here!” They all sweatdropped as Hop gave a hurrah, clearly just as eager as them for a battle.

Turning back to the crowd, Leon grinned. “Just because a new competitor has been added to the tournament doesn’t mean you should stop cheering for me, of course.” Even when Lance facepalmed in the back, Ash and the rest of the crowd chuckled. “Now, I hate to say goodbye, but this is the end of this year’s tournament. I wish you all a safe journey and hope you’ll stay tuned to the next world championship tournament!”

Mewtwo peeked down at the stage from the sky, smiling when Pikachu chirped to Ash, both of them trying their hardest not to wave at him. Fireworks went off as Leon did his usual pose, the flowers blooming in Ash and Pikachu’s eyes as they looked to the future. 

*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅*⑅❀⑅* 

Kukui creaked his front door open, freezing when he stared at Lance. There was an awkwardly long pause of total silence. 

“Hey there!” Ash cut in, him and Pikachu both waving from beside Lance. Like on cue, Ash’s pokemon came rushing out the door. Ash and Pikachu both sweatdropped as they were tackled to the ground by Lycanroc, before laughing. At least it wasn’t Melmetal, right?

“...Excuse me, Champion Lance, but aren’t you hot in that cape?” Kukui flatly asked, blinking when Ash sat up and tossed a full water bottle at Lance from his bag. It hit Lance on the arm, falling onto the ground with a ping as Lance facepalmed.

“Weren’t you cold wearing a single tank top while battling me-” he shot back, sighing when they both watched Ash casually hoisting his Incineroar up, laughing and running around without breaking a sweat. “You don’t seem surprised to see that.”

“...This is Ash we’re talking about.”

“Exactly, I’m here to talk about him because he literally forced me here for some reason.” Kukui sweatdropped. Rubbing his eyes, Lance held out his pokedex to Kukui. “Feel free to look over Ash’s file.”

Kukui hesitantly took the pokedex, grasping the edge of his front door. “Why don’t you all come in?” Lance just stood there, watching Ash play with his pokemon, eyes not even focusing. “Ash, can you-”

“Ash, get over here!”

Kukui narrowed his eyes at Lance, blinking when Ash darted over with worried eyes, picking up the water bottle on the ground next to Lance. “Lance are you ok?” Ash’s other pokemon also cooed in curiosity and worry, Pikachu in particular.

“I’m fine.” Even as the great Kanto and Johto Champion wobbled on his feet, Kukui hesitated to reach forward and help. Ash took one look at Lance, before tugging Lance’s cape and making him fall into his arms. “Ash, really! I’m used to-”

Kukui could only sweatdrop as Ash picked Lance up and raced into the house, muttering to him, “He’s worse than you sometimes.” Shutting the door, Kukui heard a loud thump and turned around. Ash deposited Lance on the sofa before lightly tossing the water bottle next to him. “Can you not get a heat stroke on me, Lance? This was supposed to be a vacation!” Ash’s pokemon all crowded around the two but backed off when Ash shook his head. Pikachu hopped onto the back of the sofa, peering down at Lance with a soft chirp.

Lance sputtered for a moment, before clearing his throat when Kukui walked over. Ah. Oh Kukui saw exactly what was happening alright, he just didn’t believe it. “Ash, seriously.”

As Lance tried to sit up, Ash shoved him down once more. “I am being serious! I thought Kukui was bad at taking care of himself but here you are! You barely take  _ Sundays _ off, Lance! How are you going to run two nations if you’re not taking care of yourself?” Lance fell silent, flushing in embarrassment. 

Kukui gave a small chuckle, picking up his coffee mug from the table. “Let me guess, the moment you took Ash under your wing he makes sure you never miss a meal.” At Ash’s determined grin, Kukui sighed fondly. “Yeah, he did the same for me, Champion Lance.”

“We’re not battling, just call me Lance.” If Kukui had begun to drink his coffee already, he would have spat it out, no doubt. He stood there with a stunned expression instead.

Ash glanced between Lance and Kukui, before shrugging. “You two talk it out while I visit some places. Have fun!” Pikachu gave a loud squeak, hopping back onto Ash’s shoulder. 

Right after Ash and all of his pokemon left the house, Lance tried to sit up. Emphasis on tried. While Kukui wasn’t keen on seeing Lance again, he couldn’t help but be worried when Lance winced, sinking back down onto his sofa while rubbing his temples.

“...So, uh… Long-time no see?” Kukui started, sipping his coffee.

“Yeah, been a while.” Kukui blinked. This was the same Lance who had battled him back then? The towering pillar of strength? The leader of a powerful elite and two nations? The ironically ice-cold champion? It sure didn’t seem like it. Lance seemed to realize how awkward the conversation was and cut in, “Regional professor, huh?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Congrats.” Lance grinned widely, hand picking up the water Ash left for him and eyeing it over. “I knew you had potential… Are you still mad at me for defeating you?”

“No.”

“Ok.” The tension in the room decreased a bit, but as Kukui glanced down at Lance’s pokedex, the tension shot up once more. 

“...What.”

Lance sighed, “Yeah.” There was silence once more as Kukui read through Ash’s file. “Hey Kukui-”

“What?!” 

Crinkling the water bottle, Lance started once more, “Kukui-”

“I didn’t search Ash up for the sake of his privacy, but what?! Over fifty badges?! He’s been to what, eight or nine regions?! I knew he was skilled, but THIS?”

Lance sweatdropped. “Uh, have you-”

“He saw Ho-oh on the first day of his journey?! And saved a pokemon center from Team Rocket? On his first day?! Team Rocket has been following him around from the FIRST day?!” Lance laid his arms over his eyes and sighed deeply as Kukui continued to rant. “Hold on, is that a tally mark for the ‘number of deaths’?!”

“Yeah…” Lance meekly answered, absentmindedly tearing at the water bottle wrapper.

“...WHAT. How many  **legendaries** and  **mythical** pokemon has Ash seen?!”

“All-”

“ **WHAT.** ” Lance actually flinched this time, pursing his lips and tossing the water bottle onto the table. “He’s traveled through time. He’s traveled through dimensions and alternate worlds. He’s met  **every god** and  **died five times.** What hasn’t he done?!”

“...Kukui-”

“Ash had  **saved the world.** ”

Lance sighed, “Well at least you’re not accusing me of false information.”

“...And where were  **you** during all this?! I thought you’re the  **champion** !” Kukui nearly slammed Lance’s pokedex on the table, but he had enough restraint to only place it down with a huff. 

Raising an eyebrow, Lance stared up at Kukui. He was silent still, dragging a hand across his face and gulping. “Do you think I can stop him? You want me to follow him around and wait for the world to end?”

Kukui also fell silent, questions swirling around in his eyes as Lance guiltily shifted. “Then what… I need more coffee, do you want any?”

Staring back at Kukui, Lance blinked, before silently shaking his head. “That’s ok. Besides, Ash would get mad at me for it. Especially since… it’s apparently a vacation for me.” Huh. Guess Lance wasn’t used to this side of Kukui either. Kukui awkwardly nodded, walking off to the kitchen.

There was only the sound of the coffee maker for the next few minutes.

“Speaking of Ash, well we’ve been talking about him this whole time but, how do you deal with him?” Lance yelled from the living room, blinking when he saw Kukui freeze. Almost as if he forgot Lance was there.

“...Wait, what? Wait wait wait you’re asking me. You just asked me. What?” Kukui refilled his coffee mug, hesitant to walk back to the living room.

“You’re a teacher! You know how to deal with kids, I don’t!”

Kukui blinked, before smirking, “Are you admitting-”

“Yes! I don’t know what impression you have of me from our battle, but I don’t actually know how to interact with kids! Especially someone as energetic and troublesome as Ash!”

“...I get that you’re both champions but do you really interact that often?” Kukui asked, ambling next to Lance and sitting on the adjacent sofa.

Lance threw his hands up. “He calls me every single day to make sure I’m eating, sleeping, drinking enough water! I wouldn’t even be here at your house if not for him! Is me trying to understand kids better that surprising?”

Kukui sweatdropped, glancing at Lance’s pokedex. “Ash isn’t just a normal kid. His file proves that.” Under his breath, Kukui mumbled, “Ash, what even is your life?”

Lance gave a burst of laughter, successfully sitting up. “The sole fact that he’s the youngest champion proves that.” Before Kukui could respond, Lance rambled on, “Being a champion isn’t just about battling, you’re protecting your citizens and helping people and pokemon and taking care of your region’s well being-”

“I know now. I also know Ash does that just fine.”

“...Yeah, more than fine.” 

Kukui watched Lance sport a fond smile and tilted his head in confusion. “Then I don’t see the problem? If he’s doing his job, why do you need my help? Is he being-”

“Oh, I…” Lance trailed off for a moment, glancing off. “It’s not about Ash not doing the right thing or anything, far from it, actually… I just don’t know how to deal with his reckless behavior giving me a heart attack each and every time.” Kukui could only snicker as Lance put his hands out. “Who else would think it would be safe to randomly pet one of my dragon pokemon? Friend of mine or not, he still could seriously gotten hurt!”

“Oh, you’re friends? And is that worry I hear?” Kukui teased, lightly shoving at Lance’s arm and smiling when Lance didn’t lash out like he used to do.

“Is that seriously what you’re going to focus on?”

Kukui shrugged with a chuckle, placing his coffee down. “Well, it was clear that he didn’t get seriously hurt. And you should know that he has a connection with pokemon by now.” Lance barked out a laugh, nodding. “And honestly, there’s really nothing I can do to help. My only advice is to talk with Ash about this, though that might not help too much, considering-”

The door slammed open, startling both adults. “...Sorry!” Ash exclaimed, slowly closing the door behind him, unaware of the stares he’s getting. “What’s wrong?” Ash’s pokemon all crept into the house, playfully chasing each other.

“Um, what do you have in your hand?” Lance asked, posture relaxing more and more.

Ash dangled a bag. “I bought some fresh berries!” The two adults both sweatdropped. 

“Your other hand.” 

Kukui cut in, “That’s a Jangmo-o. A dragon type.” Kukui would be lying if he said he didn’t burst into giggles at Lance’s drowsy but starstruck face.

Ash shrugged, letting the baby climb onto his shoulder and play with Pikachu. “Did you talk it out though?”

Kukui and Lance glanced at each other, the former saying, “We mainly talked about you, actually.”

Pouting, Ash walked over, letting Pikachu and Jangmo-o down before setting the bag down on the table. “I’m really not that interesting.” Lance actually snorted, slinging an arm over Ash’s shoulder as Ash sat between them in the corner. Kukui stifled another laugh as Lance ruffled Ash’s hair, eliciting an annoyed groan from the kid.

They all watched Pikachu introducing the dragon type to Ash’s other pokemon, and Lance sleepily mumbled, “Glad you made it back in one piece...”

Ash and Kukui smiled at each other as Lance unwillingly shut his eyes, leaning against Ash while snoozing. Kukui took a picture of the two as Ash held up a victory sign using Lance’s pokedex, before setting it down on the table and whispering, “Thank you.”

Ash blinked. “Thank me? What for?”

“For bringing the best out of everyone.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn’t originally going to write Lance and Kukui here, but it happened anyways. So if the two segments seem like vastly different or disconnected, that’s the reason.  
> Random trivia: Chinese new year 2020 -> year of the rat! :3 (not that it connects to the fic other than they share a date)  
> And before you guys say Ash hasn’t met Raikou yet, I know Raikou didn’t appear in the anime. I know that. But Ash did see a shiny Raikou in the Zoroark movie, and I’m counting it.


End file.
